USA Hockey has announced its finalized rosters for the National Junior Evaluation Camp (NJEC), taking place from July 30th – August 6th. June's list of 42 invitees has been divvied up into USA Blue and USA White, with each playing thrice before a further three games as an amalgamated Team USA.
The NJEC serves as a IIHF World Junior Championships trial balloon, not only for USA Hockey but also Canada, Sweden and Finland. Given this preparatory role, it’s no surprise to see numerous players of note, including but certainly not limited to Pierre-Luc Dubois, Tyson Jost, Mitchell Marner, Nolan Patrick, Matthew Tkachuk and Clayton Keller.
Here are the Team USA Blue & White rosters for the 2016 #NJEC.
Details: https://t.co/1E7ic7A6u0 pic.twitter.com/xJZDAIyFEJ
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) July 22, 2016
So far as the Winnipeg Jets are concerned, all the club’s eggs are in Team USA’s basket. USA White features 2015 draft selections Jack Roslovic and Erik Foley, NJEC returnees who may look to continue their 2016 Jets Development Camp chemistry. At last year’s NJEC, Foley scored two goals in three games with USA Blue, versus the goal and two assists Roslovic posted with rival USA White. After the two were amalgamated into a single Team USA, Foley scored once in the single game he played, while Roslovic had a goal and an assist in three games.
This year, both USA squads feature a pair of associate coaches at the helm. Leading Team Blue are Grant Potulny, a 36-year-old assistant who coaches Jets prospect Jack Glover at the University of Minnesota, alongside long-time NHLer Mike Knuble, now an assistant coach with the Grand Rapids Griffins. As for Team White, Boston College associate head coach Greg Brown is joined behind the bench by former Buffalo Sabres head coach Ron Rolston.
Here is the camp's game schedule, as per USA Hockey:
For those interested in attending the event, which takes place at the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, click here for the relevant links.
Will you be paying attention to the 2016 National Junior Evaluation Camp? Did last year's edition leave any lasting impressions? And on a team featuring Kieffer Bellows, Brock Boeser, Christian Fischer, Clayton Keller and Max Jones, where do Foley and Roslovic slot in? Share your thoughts, questions and concerns in the Comments section below, like Arctic Ice Hockey on Facebook, and as always, thanks for reading!
